New appointments made to enhance State TalentThursday, November 26, 2015 - 11:58 AM

The West Australian Football Commission has appointed former Fremantle Football Club State Recruiting Manager Adam Jones as WAFC State Talent Manager.

Jones will lead the WAFC talent portfolio supported by former WAFC Schools Competitions Manager Clayton Anderson, who has been appointed as Talent Programs Coordinator.

Jones has worked in recruiting roles for the past eight years based both in Melbourne and Perth and worked as Fremantle’s State Recruiting Manager since 2012.

He has also been a member of the WAFC’s Talent Pathway Advisory Committee since 2013, helping to provide talent development recommendations to the WAFC.

His football playing career included 14 WAFL League games with Subiaco Football Club before injury forced an early retirement in 2005 at the age of 21.

Jones said he was looking forward to commencing in the role of State Talent Manager.

“I have played and been involved in the elite football industry for over 10 years now and this is a great opportunity not only for me and my career but also to help make a difference to football in WA,” he said.

Anderson, who played over 100 WAFL games for East Fremantle including two premierships and represented WA in underage State football, has worked for the WAFC since 2000 in roles including Game Development Officer, State Auskick Manager and Schools Competitions Manager.

New coaching appointments have also been made for the State 18s Academy, including:

State 18s Forwards Coach – Ash McGrath

(214 AFL games Brisbane Lions 2001-2014, Premiership 2003, Indigenous All-Stars 2003, 2009, 2013, Jim Stynes Medal 2013)

State 18s Midfield Coach – Mark McGough

(37 AFL games Collingwood 2002-2004, 12 AFL games St. Kilda 2005-2006, ANZAC Medal 2002, AFL Rising Star nominee 2002, 103 WAFL League games East Fremantle 2010-2015)

State 18s Defensive Coach – Darren Rumble

(229 WAFL League games Subiaco, Premierships 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015, WAFL State Team 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2015) 

McGrath, McGough and Rumble will be led by State 18s Head Coach Andrew Lockyer, who remains at the helm after coaching the State 18s in 2015, and supported by WAFC Coach Coordinator Tony Micale.

WAFC General Manager Football Affairs Jon Haines said the new appointments to the Talent portfolio would ensure this core area continued to meet and exceed expectations.

“The WAFC is committed to ensuring WA and the WAFL competition continues to be an industry leader in developing talent,” Haines said.

“These new appointments will ensure our revised talent structure is resourced appropriately and that the WAFC is well placed to deliver key talent outcomes and build upon our success in this area.

“The notion that the production of talented players is cyclical and will always have peaks and troughs is not a premise that we support. The delivery and measurement of consistently sound programs, underpinned by best practice and overseen by high quality people is the key benchmark that we expect this new management team to facilitate.”